I walked into the pipeline, "You took our daughter back to the future?"

"I didn't have any other choice." Barry's voice was low, as he faced me.

"Are you suddenly married to yourself now?" The attitude in me was sparking, "In a marriage, Barry- there's two parts to everything. Two people- two opinions- one understanding. If you weren't going go by that, maybe you should've thought about it before you got hitched."

Barry sighs, "I really- had no other choice."

"Did you just not comprehend what I just said?" I question, gesturing with my hands, "It's we, Barry. Not I. She's our daughter, not just yours."

Barry runs a hand through his hair, "I know that."

"But you left her there anyway?" I ask, "Without consulting with me first?"

"I can't trust her, Zee!" Barry blurts out in defeat, "That puts all of us in danger!"

"And you think that gives you any right to make decisions on my behalf too?" I cross my arms, "Did you not even think once to ask me what I think?"

Barry raises his voice in frustration, tears in his eyes, "I didn't think I had to!"

I slightly flinch, but I don't move from where I stood.

My voice fell quiet, "Barry- I don't always agree with what you think. I know what we just found out hits you the hardest- but- I just- I wanted you to consult with me first. Talk to me about it instead of going on and making your own decisions based on your emotions."

"I'm right this time!" Barry raises his voice once more, then turns away from me.

"Barry-" I sigh, "I- I'm not going to hold any past mistakes against you- but- this time- this is a shared matter- she's our daughter, Barry. You just went ahead and-"

"You think I wanted to do this?" Barry faces me once more, "That- this was easy?"

"I didn't say that." I meet his eyes.

Barry exclaims, "Seeing Nora looking at me, asking for forgiveness knowing it might be the last time I ever see her?"

"What about the last time that I get to see her, Barry?" This made me angry, a scoff leaving my lips, "I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye."

"Damn it, Zee, she lied to us for months!" Barry shouted right in my face, as I unintentionally flinched once more, this time taking a step back.

"Barry-" I tried to keep my voice calm, as it was shaky, "There was no bad intention. She explained why-"

"That she was working with Thawne?" Barry screamed in my face once more, the anger getting the best of him.

I stepped up, grabbing his face, the tears escaping my eyes, my voice breaking, "I know- I know how much this hurts you- I completely understand, okay-"

Barry pulls away from my touch, "Maybe if he killed your mother in front of you, you'd feel differently."

My hands drop, a quiet sob leaving my lips, "I wouldn't be happy if the roles were reversed and she was working with James out of all people- I just- I would've talked to you before taking action-"

Barry shook his head, crossing his arms, looking away, tears slipping his eyes.

"She just wanted to meet you, Barry." I stared at him, "The father that she never knew and there was one person who could teach her how to do that. Is it really so hard to understand why she would go to him?"

"Doesn't matter if I understand it, Zee." Barry's voice broke, "Thawne is manipulating her."

"He's on death row, Barry." I ran a hand through my hair, "How is he manipulating her? And you know what- even if he was- where is Nora's fault in this? She would be the victim in this case."

Barry shook his head, looking up at me, "You know, if this were anybody else, you'd back me."

I scoff, looking away.

"But- because it's Nora, because it's our daughter, the person who finally stopped hating you, you refuse to see how dangerous this is." Barry decided to call me out for something that I didn't even feel to back my argument, "I mean, you talk about making decisions based on emotion. Look in the mirror."

I looked at him, tears slipping my eyes. I sob, turning, walking away from Barry Allen.

-

"Hey, where is Cecile and Cisco?" Barry walks into the cortex, as I stood next to Ralph, my arms crossed.

"Cecile's relieving the nanny." Joe told him.

"And Cisco went to talk to Breacher about how to track Cicada II." Caitlin answered.

"Okay-" Barry sighed, as I felt his stare on me, but I didn't dare look up.

Ralph was already sensing something wrong, "What's going on, guys?"

Barry ran a hand through his hair, "We're not really seeing eye to eye right now."

Joe looks between us, "Because?"

"Because he took Nora home-" I looked at Joe and Ralph, "-for good."

"Nora's gone?" Joe's eyes are wide.

Caitlin goes quiet, "Just like that?"

"Well, only thing to do, really, because Nora can't be trusted." Sherloque spoke up, looking between us.

"Okay-" I turn, staring to make my way over to him, Ralph grabbing my arm and stopping me, "Eobard is the one that can't be trusted, Nora is a completely different story-"

"Unless you wanna know what the fiery pits of hell feels like-" Ralph stops me, glances towards me, then at Sherloque, "I'd stop."

"I can deduce from your faces that you're upset, but you understand the truth need to be exposed." Sherloque looks between us all.

"Yes, we understand that." Ralph stares at him, "What you don't understand is that this is a family. You didn't include anyone in this."

"Oh, look." Sherloque clears his throat, "Baby Giraffe-"

"Sherloque, you've done enough." Barry stops him and sits in my chair, "All right?"

"Oh, I have not done enough." Sherloque scoffs, "We still have another Cicada to catch."

Joe stops him, "Man, he says you've done enough."

"Well, perhaps I have." Sherloque looks down.

"Sherloque-" I sigh, "We all just need some time- this has nothing to do with you. Thank you- for telling us."

Sherloque simply nods, leaving the room, as I knew that it didn't change his mood.

I huff, putting my hand on my forehead.

I drop my hand, looking at Joe, "Could I stay with you tonight? If not- I'll just- figure something out."

Joe glances at Barry, then nods slow, "Sure thing, Hun."

I smile at him, but barely.

Joe's phone rings, "I got to take this."

"Look since Cisco didn't take me with him, I'm gonna round up the Cicada II files." Ralph told us when Joe steps aside, "Cecile and I are going to go over them tomorrow, see if anything makes my nose wiggle."

"Cool." I mutter, "Let me know what you find out."

"You're coming with." Ralph grabs my arm, staring to pull me along.

I stop, "No I'm not-"

Ralph turns, pulling me into him, throwing me over his shoulder, walking out of the cortex as I sigh in defeat.

-

"My contacts upstate got nothing." Cecile spoke, "I even tried Kritschgau at the DOD. Nada. Nobody can spare the manpower to help find Cicada 2.0."

It was the next day, as I still felt like crap. I was seated on the couch, in a black crop top t shirt and grey sweatpants, chewing on a slice of pizza.

"Hey, what about The Citizen?" Ralph questions, "Any fresh leads on Cicada?"

"I have nothing." Iris honestly told him.

I walked over back to dinner table, grabbing another slice.

"So- you use my arm as a punching bag for over an hour- and now you're eating a bunch of pizza?" Ralph looks at me.

"Well- you literally made your arm into a punching bag for me." I shot him a look, "And- I burned a lot of calories. I'm eating all of those back."

"Where is all that food going?" Iris softly jokes to try and get me to laugh.

"Don't know-" I walk away, plopping back onto the couch, continuing to eat the slice in my hand.

I looked at my phone, noticing the missed calls from Barry.

I sigh, turning my phone faced down, continuing to eat.

"Zee- do you think you can call in a favor for any intel on Cicada?" Ralph looks at me, as I simply ignore him, "Zee? Hello? Earth to Zee-"

Cecile rushes after Ralph once he heads over to me, "Ralph, wait!"

I looked at Ralph, shooting him a look.

"You wanna talk?" Ralph sat on the arm of the couch.

I got up and stood in front of him, "Okay- how's this. Hey Barry, what you've done shows me that you have no idea what the meaning of marriage is- and it's made me very upset to the point that I don't think I can easily forgive you for this so- you can go su-"

"Wow-" Iris covers my mouth, "That sounds very- professional."

I pull away, "What was I thinking when I got married? I mean- marriage is hard. Hell- relationships are hard. What the hell did I get myself into?"

"Zee-" Ralph looks at me, "You're being-"

"Stay out of it, Ralph." I snap without intention, putting down the slice of pizza, dusting my hands off and sitting back down.

"She's not kidding." Cecile whispers, referring how she used her abilities to know how I feel, "Super mad."

"Look, um, Zee, I know how Barry can be." Ralph folds his hands, "But- you guys are like the Meghan and Harry of superhero royalty. Your love is eternal. You two will talk and-"

"We did talk." I looked up at him, "He took Nora back- not even caring enough to ask me, I think Nora can be trusted- he doesn't. He thinks I'm refusing to see how dangerous any of it is because Nora is the daughter that finally stopped hating me. He acts like he can run around and make decisions on my behalf also and I just have to go with it. How do we solve that?"

"Okay, Zee, honey." Cecile sat down next to me, "I haven't always been in the near-perfect relationship that I'm in now."

I sigh, slouching in my seat, staring into nothingness.

"So take it from someone with experience, the only way you two solve this problem is together." Cecile told me, "And you're not going to find your answers here."

I looked up, a thought filling my mind, "Yeah, you're right."

With that, I got up, and left.

-

"Reprogramming complete." Gideon spoke, as I stood in the Time Vault, dressed in an emerald green sweater and black ripped jeans, "The Time Sphere's navigation core is now locked onto Nora Allen's temporal signature."

"And you disabled the tracker that Cisco installed- into the Sphere-?" I question, crossing my arms.

"Yes." Gideon confirms, "However, there are still alarms in Star Labs. If you wish to use the Sphere undetected, you must activate it off-site."

I took the device out, waving my hand, Gideon disappearing.

I turn, immediately stopping in my tracks when I see Ralph stood by the door, his arms crossed, "Planning a trip?"

I clear my throat lightly, knowing how stupid my idea was but I stood by it, "How did you get in here

"Followed you then stretched under the door." Ralph admits, "By the way, was anybody ever gonna tell me about this secret room? What else do we got in here? A bowling alley or something?"

"Unfortunately no-" I roll my eyes, "Ralph, I don't have time for this- I-"

"Actually, it looks like you have all the time in the world." Ralph stares at me.

"I know this is stupid-" I trail off, "But- you're not gonna stop me."

Ralph clears his throat, "Who said anything about stopping you?"

-

"Hold my suit." Ralph hands the tiny case, as I rolled my eyes, shutting it, shoving it into my back pocket, running a hand through my wavy hair.

"I actually regret my decision-" I trail off, "I literally get into a huge argument with my husband and my first instinct is to secretly go to the future and get my daughter- like did I hit my head somewhere?"

"Focus, okay?" Ralph stops me, walking through the hall of the prison with me, "You sure you're ready to talk to "he who shall not be named"?"

"I don't think I've seen him since he tried to kill me when the Nazis invaded-" I deeply inhale, "Whether I'm ready or not- these were Nora's last known coordinates."

I stop, noticing the guard sitting right in our way.

"You're up." I whisper to Ralph.

"Hey, bro." Ralph walks over, "Uh, what a day. Am I right? You mind if I get a quick word there with Hannibal Speedster? It's just going to take, like, a second."

"Is that right?" He stood up, "Well, unless you got a signed Shift Change Order, nobody goes in there but me, bro."

"Only you, huh?" Ralph chuckles, then shifted into him, "Okay, if you insist."

"Oh, shrap." The guard sighed, and seconds later, Ralph was tossing him into a cell, locking him in.

"You need to hurry." Ralph said to me, "This guy's such a dick, I got to think super douchey thoughts just to keep this face on."

I nod towards him, Ralph sitting down where the guard was sitting before, as I rushed down the hall and into the room where Eobard was held.

I jerk to a stop when I see Nora stood right in front, Eobard's eyes landing on me, as he was wearing Harrison's face, just like the last time we encountered each other, only this time, he looked worn out.

I let out a heavy breath, brushing my hair away from my face, "Nora-"

Nora faces me, "Mom?"

"Nora-" I looked between her and Eobard, "Please- step away from him."

"Mom, it's okay." Nora trailed off, "Eobard is helping me. He has a way for me to get back home."

"Nora, I have a way for you to get back home." I snipped, "Step away from him now."

Eobard steps back, "Nora, listen to your mother."

"Where's Dad?" Nora steps closer to me, listening to Eobard.

"It's just me." I admit, "It's probably for the best, okay- we have to go-"

Nora stays put, tears welling up in her eyes, "What do you mean it's probably for the best?"

"Nora, the last thing your father needs is to see you here with him." I inhale deeply.

"She's right about that." Eobard agrees with me, looking right at me.

"No." Nora glances back at him, then looks back at me, "No, she's not, and neither is my dad."

"Nora, you know what Thawne has done to our family." I stared at her, scoffing in defeat, "I'll admit, I'm not happy about whatever this is- and I know- you're hurt over what your father did, but he isn't going to sit aside and let whatever this is happen- I mean, Thawne killed his mother."

"I don't care, Mom." Nora shot at me, "Why are you here and he isn't?"

I sigh deeply, "Okay- look, I understand how you feel-"

"Do you?" She cuts me off, "Do you know what it's like to want something more than anything else in your whole life? To know your father? To do your best to follow in his footsteps? To make him proud?"

"Nora-" I stare at her with wide eyes, noticing the electricity cracking at her feet, red electricity starting to form, "Nora, calm down, please-"

"How could he leave me?" Nora raises her voice, tears in her eyes.

Eobard steps closer to the glass, "Wait, wait! That's enough!"

"Nora-" I stepped closer to her.

"How could he stop loving me?" Nora screams, and it was as if everything went into slow motion, as I shouted Nora's name, her turning, running off, the wind from her running breezing through my hair.

"She's gone." Eobard whispers, staring at where Nora once stood.

"What?" I walked up to the glass, "What the hell do you mean she's gone? Where did she go?"

"I don't know where." Eobard looks at me, "I only know when. 2019."

"Nora said you showed her a way back-" My breathing was ragged, "-she meant your way."

"Yes." Eobard admits, "And I made a mistake."

"She wanted to go home, I tried to help her." Eobard went on, "But listen, Zee, you have to find her. She needs her family."

"That family damn well does not include you." I turn, staring to walk to the door.

"But- it does include Barry." Eobard's voice stops me, "She needs you both united."

I turn back around, walking back over to the glass, standing straight, my anger getting the best of me, my fist coming in contact with the glass, pain striking through my hand but I don't acknowledge it.

"I'm only going to say this once, Thawne." I said through a clenched jaw, "You don't get to comment on us. You stay the hell out of my relationship or you won't even make it to the end of that timer. Believe me when I say you're lucky that I'm not on the other side of this glass with you."

"I like your anger, it's something I've always admired about you." Eobard's voice was low, "-but don't let it drive Barry away. The only way for you to help Nora is by doing it as a family. Otherwise, you're simply leaving Barry the exact same way he left Nora."

"You manipulative bas-" I began.

Ralph walks in, cutting me off, "Zee, we got to bail. They found Officer Jackass."

"Think about it." Eobard stares at me.

"Zee, please." Ralph said again.

I back away, holding my aching hand, leaving with Ralph.

-

[ barry's pov ]

I sigh, sat in Zee's seat behind the console, "There's no leads. There's no hits on Icicle's cryosignature, no reads on facial recognition, nothing."

"Barr, we'll find him." Joe assures me, crossing his arms, "We always do."

"How, Joe? How are we gonna find them?" I blurt out, "Caitlin's kidnapped. We need Caitlin to find Caitlin. Cisco's on another Earth and Zee won't even answer my calls! I- I don't know how to fix any of this."

"Barr-" Joe's arms drop, "Do you want to- talk?"

"I was wrong, Joe." I defeatedly say, not even caring if Sherloque was in the room anymore, "I wasn't thinking straight- and now everything's up in flames with Zee."

Joe stares at me, wanting me to go on, tears burning in my eyes.

"She was being so understanding- she was just upset that I didn't even think about asking her what to do about our daughter-" I stressfully ran a hand through my hair, having kept this held in since I last saw her, "I said things- that hurt her. I wasn't in the right state of mind- I was upset- and betrayed- and I took it all on her. I haven't seen her since then- I have no idea where she is- who she's with- what she's doing- I mean- I've looked all around the city- I can't find her."

Joe blinks, "You searched the entire city?"

"I need to talk to her and tell her I'm sorry. I didn't mean half of the things I said to her and I should've just listened to her- and apologized- and talked to her about it." A tear slips my eye, "I'm a mess without her, Joe- I, damn it- I don't know what to do. I've called her at least 10 times already, and she hasn't answered."

"Barr, she needs time." Joe places a hand on my shoulder, "If what you said was really that bad- she needs time to heal."

"I don't know how to fix any of this." I repeat, wiping my tear.

Sherloque clears his throat, "If I might?"

"It occurs to me that hiding a needle in a haystack is good. Hiding a needle in a stack of needles?" He presses a key, pulling it up, "That's better."

"These are all the cold spots in the area." I sat up, "You think Icicle is masking his cryo-signature with someplace that's already cold?"

"Giving him the perfect cover." Sherloque nods, "So we just refocus our search, look for temperature anomalies in already existing cold spots, et voila."

"This is great." I type away, "I'll start retasking the satellites."

"Hey, thanks for your help." Joe thanks him.

"The least I can do." Sherloque simply said.

"I've got a cold spike." I pulled it up, looking at the screen.

Sherloque stares, "That's quite a stack of needles."

-

[ zee's pov ]

"Okay, explain again why I'm here doing this and not anybody else?" I heard Joe's voice once Ralph and I exit the elevator.

"It appears we're a bit short staffed at the moment." Sherloque told him.

"All right, if it's just us, it's just us." Joe sighs, "Let's do this."

"Let's do this thing." Sherloque agrees, making me move faster.

I walk in with Ralph, "What's going on?"

"Oh, great timing." Joe immediately got up.

"Oh, yeah, good timing." Sherloque exhales, "Oh, you do this-"

"What happened to your hand?" Joe stared at my wrapped hand, as I bent over and typed away on the keyboard to pull up coordinates and details.

"I broke my hand-" I told them, "Now- seriously, what's going on?"

"Okay, Icicle has Caitlyn and her mom in some caves north of the Badlands." Joe explains.

"Well, the Flash is already on the scene." Sherloque adds in, "So for all we know, the problem is already solved."

"Guys, I have a problem." Barry's voice came in through the comms.

Sherloque exhales, "Or not."

"I need to phase Carla out of a cryo-chamber but it's too cold." Barry told us, "I can't even touch it."

"All right, we need heat fast." Ralph looks right at me.

"On it-" I nod, "I need a breach-"

Sherloque grabs an extrapolator, setting the coordinates, opening one for me, as I grabbed my leather jacket and put it on, walking through the breach, stepping to the other side, my eyes landing on Barry, his hand having bits of ice on it, Carla still in the chamber.

"Zee-" Barry's eyes land on me, his voice sounding as if it was a tone of relief.

I nod as a greeting, my fists lighting up in flames, my eyes going completely white.

Barry nods back, knowing what I was about to do, as I hit the chamber with all I had, as it heated up the outside of it, Barry phasing in quickly and grabbing Carla out.

"I'm going to warm her up-" Barry used his electricity to warm Carla up quickly, then sets her down, finding something to wrap her with, "You're going to be okay. You just need to take it slow."

Caitlin walked in, with her father, Carla's eyes wide, "Thomas? My God!"

Carla ran over and hugged him, then looked at Caitlin, "Are you-"

"I'm okay." Caitlin nods, "I took a beating but Killer Frost ice healing kicked in. I'm going to be fine thanks to Dad."

"Well, how- how is this possible?" Carla was shocked.

"Well, I saw Icicle about to kill Caitlin, and I found the strength to break through." Thomas told her, his words bringing a small smile to my face.

"Just like Killer Frost, Dad saved me." Caitlin smiles.

"Well, you saved me too, Caitlin." Thomas looked at her with a genuine smile, "I mean, thanks to you, I think I may have finally banished this monster."

"That's good." Grace Gibbons voice filled our ears, as she used her abilities to lift Barry off the ground, "That just leaves one more monster for me to kill."

Barry grunts, "Run!"

Grace tosses him, Barry getting knocked in an instant.

"Get out of here." Caitlin pushed her parents, "We'll take care of this."

Killer Frost had appeared after her parents left, as she tossed me an ice dagger, "You think you can fight with that?"

"I'll make do." I held onto it, the cold burning against my hands, my mothers gone since Grace's appearance.

"Cool knife." Killer Frost looked at Grace, two daggers forming her hands, "But- you're outnumbered."

As Killer Frost and I backed each other up and fight it off when it all began, my previous injury, my non dominant hand having control of the dagger in my hand, my powers gone, and Grace having the upper hand of Killer Frost most of the time, we didn't win that fight.

Within minutes, I was on the ground, grunting in pain, a slit on my arm bleeding out, Killer Frost forcing herself up from the ground.

Grace throws her dagger towards her, only for Thomas to unexpectedly step between, the dagger hitting him, saving his dagger, "Caitlin!"

My eyes widen at the sight, as I quickly sat up, as Grace calls upon her dagger, grabbing what she needed, and disappearing.

Thomas fell into Caitlin, Caitlin's eyes wide, as she laid him down, "Dad? Dad. Please."

"Caitlin." He weakly said.

Barry was sitting up also, watching, deep sympathy crossing his face.

"Dad, I told you to go." Caitlin's voice was quiet, Carla running in also.

"I already left once before." Thomas was weak, "Left both of you. Worst mistake I've ever made in my entire life. I wasn't going to make that again. Family shouldn't leave family."

"I'll always love you." Thomas said before taking his last breath.

-

"How's Caitlin and her mom?" I quietly asked Barry once he walked back into the cortex, as I stood with Joe, Ralph and Sherloque, changed into one of Barry's sweatshirts after changing out of my bloody clothes, my wound already healed, along with my hand, but I hadn't gotten around to taking off the wrapping.

"Caitlin's still running some tests, but she thinks Carla's gonna be okay. I mean, as okay as she can be given the circumstances-" Barry hides his hands in his sleeves, his eyes finally connecting with mine, "How are you? You were bleeding pretty badly- and your hand was-"

"I'm fine." I stop him, "My healing kicked in."

"Grace showed up-" I looked between them all, changing the subject, "She must've showed up for something."

"What could Cicada II want with the Cryo-Atomizer?" Barry thought out loud.

"Well, we're not gonna figure it out tonight, so- let's rest tonight." Joe looks at me, "Are you coming back to the house?"

I looked at Barry, my lips in an o formation, my tongue pressed against the inside of my cheek, Barry looking down.

I clear my throat, "No- no, actually, I'm gonna go home tonight."

Barry's eyes connect with mine, "You are?"

"Yeah." I whisper, giving him a weak smile.

-

"I don't know what I was thinking." I inhale sharply, seated with Barry on the couch, "I mean- I still think I hit my head somewhere."

Barry weakly smiled, looking at me, "Zee."

"I broke my hand punching the glass of Thawne's cell." I crossed my arms, "I really hate the future."

"It does suck sometimes." Barry lightly shrugs.

I hugged my knees, "I wanted to break his face."

"I get that." Barry nods in agreement, "I've felt like a lot before. Especially towards him."

This earns a small chuckle from the both of us.

"Barry- I know it was stupid of me to go to the future- you don't have to tell me." I mutter quietly, "But- when I went there. She was trying to find a way to get back here. No matter what it took. And- she was using Thawne's way- and I guess it wouldn't work. But- me being there without you- gave her the boost to access it. I just- I don't know what. I just know she's here in our time."

Barry sighs deeply, looking at his hands.

"You were right about Thawne." I quietly said, "He's manipulating Nora. I can tell- I mean, he's always somehow manipulating everything for his own purpose."

Barry looks at me, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have left Nora or made that decision without you. I wasn't thinking straight and I acted. I should've just listened to you- and all I did was hurt you. And for that- I'm so sorry. I've felt like a jerk about it all day."

"It's okay." I softly smile, giving in, grabbing his hand, "We were both a mess."

Barry weakly smiled, "Whatever it is that we have to figure out, we should've done it together. Family doesn't leave family."

"Thomas' words, huh?" I reference, "I shouldn't have gone to the future without you- and I'm sorry I did. I shouldn't have left you like that."

"It's okay." Barry squeezes my hand lightly, "You were hurt- just like I was."

"Barry- we can't solve any of this if we don't do it together." I told him.

Barry breaks out into a small smile, "I can barely solve things with you, so without you-"

"Is that a joke I hear?" I softly laugh, "Already?"

"Let's bring our kid home." Barry kissed my forehead.

I nod slowly, Barry pulling me onto him, wrapping his arms around me, pressing his lips into mine.

I pull away after a few seconds but barely, "Is this really the appropriate time to be- given our situation-"

He shushed me, pressing his lips into mine once more.

authors note:

who's side are you on ? barry or zee's ?

oop zees not doing the whole "i think thawne cares for nora" shit because who was even convinced that he did like- thawne's a little bitch-

barry and zee made me cry this chapter js

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